[BigAmish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bindibadgi /img/forum/go_quote.gif How do the KSC-75 pads fit on there? Did you need to cut them? I've got some el-cheapo Shintaro phones which were given to me by my work but I don't have KSC-75s, and I'm wondering if it will work with these pads.

IMO, any foam pad thinner & more porous than the stock foam is worth trying out. However, be sure to try the RP-21s unmodded & burned-in first...you may find them perfect for your needs!

As far as the KSC75 pads are concerned, I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that he just laid them intact above the drivers to see what they would sound like. Could be mistaken though.

 

[Psiga]

Right, just slid them in, lip-edges intact. They're almost exactly the same diameter. Aside from the lips, they're only a little bit thinner than the Equation foam, but more porous. It looks as though the Beyer foam is thinner still, and I hope that means that it retains more of the 'microdynamics' that fade away with the Koss foam.

So far I am leaning toward no foam. It's a personal thing -- despite what modded foam does to clean up the frequency range, I get this visceral sense of obstruction. Not the sonic 'veil' that people commonly speak of, but the literal result of air having to filter through something foamy. To me, it feels weird even when no music is playing. Other people don't seem to notice or mind that, so I'll say that it's just me.

I wonder what my ultimate cans are going to be at this rate. As little obstruction from the driver as possible? Thus something that doesn't need attenuation in order to sound good... Orthodynamic? Electrostatic? It'll probably be something weird. Gimme my Electrokinetics!

 

[jamato8]

Ok, so I put on some foams I had from an air flight that I was keeping because they are the same size as my PortaPros and will/would make a great replacement at no cost but they are slightly thinner but porous. They stuck great and in combination with the leather Beydynamic ear pads the sound is extremely good. On Vivaldi's 8th by Hogwood, the bass is clean and alive as is the rest of the frequency range. There is also a nice since of stage and air.

 

[Psiga]

Foamless update: I've got the sound nicely dialed in with my filters, sans-foam. It's lovely, aside from being semi-useless outside of applications that can load DirectX filters. I feel a bit weird trying to meet everyone on even-keel sometimes, since I don't have a $300 amp but do have $300 worth of arcane software that can take the sound in nearly any direction. Sibilants too heavy? Roll off the top of the 6kHz'ish range. Bass could bite harder? Adjust its envelope a bit. Got a new device in the chain that changes the sound of things? Make a new preset.

And the bugger is that I still can't exactly share the results. I CAN save an MP3 of what the filters do -- but they are meticulously groomed to my particular configuration. So if I replayed that MP3 on my system, it would sound near-about spot-on, but somebody else's DAC and amp would probably mangle it.

Ah well.

Anyway. Hm. I'm probably still going to have to slip some cut foam in along the inner edges, where my ears push against the plastic. That's starting to get bothersome. Oh, and I can't recall if it was mentioned: Do the Beyer velour earpads put any extra space 'tween the head and the inside of the cans, compared to the stock Equations?

 

[bebanovich]

Yeah, I'm curious to try some thinner foam. I tried foamless and it's not that the highs are too harsh it's just that the full plastic, acoustic glory of the large cups comes through in the mids on up.

You can really hear a plastic resonance that reminds me of an old pair of giant plastic cans I had when I was a kid in the 70s. I will have to hunt around for some foam to find the sweet spot in the chain from muffled >> lush >> cheap-sounding. Thanks for the mod, guys.

 

[BigAmish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psiga /img/forum/go_quote.gif So far I am leaning toward no foam. It's a personal thing -- despite what modded foam does to clean up the frequency range, I get this visceral sense of obstruction. Not the sonic 'veil' that people commonly speak of, but the literal result of air having to filter through something foamy.

I know precisely what you mean. When I tested out my only available thin/porous foam alternative, upper-mids/highs improved but it still sounded like they were being adversely obstructed compared to other frequencies. Whatever treble 'sparkle' & depth that existed without foam was immediately muffled out (compared to foam-free) to my ear, but I could get a sense that they were wanting to come through more than with the stock foam.

I am, however, quite optimistic about the Beyer 770DT foam...it is considerably thinner & more porous than the replacement foam discs that I used. If I can coax some of that treble sparkle/depth to sneak on through I'll likely be happy as I am always looking to optimize the treble 'sparkle'/ear fatigue ratio.

 

[terryhamel]

I've had the RP-20 for a year and the RP-21 for 6 months. Both of them have incredible sound. I've probably put 1000 hours on them between the two of them.

However, it's not perfect. Not in sound, but in material quality. You see, the plastic yoke has broken on each model. If I described it right to a lad at Equation Audio, the yoke is the part where the speaker attaches to the adjustable band. This part is subject to the tension between the headband and the speaker. On both models, they developed a crack then broke in the same spot.

I was fortunate enough to have the RP-21 come out to recall the 20 when the yoke snapped on the RP-20 which afforded me a free upgrade. This time around, I might not be so lucky. The folks at Equation Audio say this problem is "very rare" and they will determine to swap it *if* I send it to them for analysis. The store I bought it from already said "6 months, no deal".

The problem is pretty clear to me. The part that holds all the tension is made of thin, hollow plastic. If it were made of metal or possibly a thicker plastic, it would last longer. Truthfully, that part should NEVER break. That's just a good design decision.

I'd love to recommend them because the sound from these headphones are incredible, but I'm leery of their design or material decisions. I hope Equation Audio can see the truth in this when I send them my RP-21.

-Terry

 

[kamal007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psiga /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right, just slid them in, lip-edges intact. They're almost exactly the same diameter. Aside from the lips, they're only a little bit thinner than the Equation foam, but more porous.

pics? and ksc75 stock foam is the earpad, right?

 

[Bigmike34]

hmm...

so does anyone have any responses on beyer velour vs. beyer leather pads vs. stock pads? So far 1 poster has said the velour pads muffled the bass while another said he preferred the sound with the velours. I don't have enough money to afford to order both so i'm trying to see which i should get. Currently I find the stock pads just too shallow and the sound great (but the sound on my IEMs was "great" before i heard these)

 

[Skylab]

The velours result in much less bass. Only use them if you want less bass from your RP21.

 

[epithetless]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigmike34 /img/forum/go_quote.gif hmm... so does anyone have any responses on beyer velour vs. beyer leather pads vs. stock pads? So far 1 poster has said the velour pads muffled the bass while another said he preferred the sound with the velours. I don't have enough money to afford to order both so i'm trying to see which i should get. Currently I find the stock pads just too shallow and the sound great (but the sound on my IEMs was "great" before i heard these)

If you want to keep the sound intact with as little change as possible, it seems the Beyer leather/vinyl pads are a better choice vs. the velour ones. Leather would obviously be the more high-end choice, but they're also impossible to buy on their own...so go with vinyl.

Any of the Beyer pads will be physically deeper than the stock Equation Audio pads.

 

[Bigmike34]

Thanks, I think i'll order the beyer vinyl pads then. I tried the mod and while the phones are definitely more fatiguing I feel the improvement in the upper range is well worth it. Add the beyer vinyls + foam and things look good...

 

[pabbi1]

"To: Al Harrington

We have only cables with molded ends and the locking tabs are part of the mold. Jak at Musicmasters said you might want to make your own cable, but all that we can do is give you the cable we have.
We do have to inform you that using a non-standard cable would void the headphones warranty.
We wish you much enjoyment with your new Equation headphones.

Regards,

C.P. Pores
Vice President, Sales"

======================

Oh my God! I have voided the warranty... what to do now? I just wanted some plugs.

Of course, these guys never get it anyway - no wonder the sales channel is so fauxed up.

 

[Psiga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamal007 /img/forum/go_quote.gif pics? and ksc75 stock foam is the earpad, right?

Yep, it's the only foam on them. First follow BigAmish's instructions (linked in his sig) for pulling the stock foam out of the RP-21s, then simply plop the KSC-75 foam in, lips and all.



No need for glue; they fit and stay in the groove just fine. The lips don't seem to interfere with anything, either.

They sound considerably better than the stock foam, in my opinion. Have not tried the Beyer foam yet, or any other sort of foam.

 

[kamal007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psiga /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yep, it's the only foam on them. First follow BigAmish's instructions (linked in his sig) for pulling the stock foam out of the RP-21s, then simply plop the KSC-75 foam in, lips and all. No need for glue; they fit and stay in the groove just fine. The lips don't seem to interfere with anything, either. They sound considerably better than the stock foam, in my opinion. Have not tried the Beyer foam yet, or any other sort of foam.

Thanks alot..i already bought them today..i think i have the Sennheiser HD25 foam too, i tried and them and theyre abit big but still fit nicely..will try the ksc75 foam later on..